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2017, 05-30 Study Session minutes MINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL MEETING STUDY SESSION Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers Spokane Valley, Washington May 30, 2017 Attendance: Cauncilmembers Staff Rob Higgins, Mayor Mark Calhoun, City Manager Arne Woodard,Deputy Mayor Chelsie Taylor,Finance Director Caleb Collier, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney Pam Haley, Councilinember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney Mike Munch, Councilmember John Holtman, Deputy City Manager Ed Pace, Councilmember Mike Stone,Parks&Recreation Director Sam Wood, Councilmember Chaz Bates,Economic Development Specialist Mark Werner,Police Chief Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilinembers were present. ACTION ITEM: 1. Motion Consideration:Urban County(CDBG)Requalification Agreement—Chaz Bates It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded, to authorize the City Manager to.finalize and execute the cooperation agreement with Spokane County for Community Development Block Grant funds and continue participation in a deferred entitlement status as part of the Urban County for federal fiscal years 2018, 2019, and 2020. Economic Development Specialist Bates gave some background on the consortium for the Urban County Community Development Block Grant requalification,and of the options available said staff recommends continuing with our City's participation in the consortium, all as outlined on his May 30, 2017 Request for Council Action form. Councilmember Pace asked if CDBG funds have ever been used for anything other than sidewalks or safe routes to schools in low income areas, and Mr. Bates replied that they have. Mayor Higgins invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried. NON-ACTION ITEMS: 2. Farmers Market—Mike Stone Parks and Recreation Director Stone's PowerPoint presentation described some of the existing area farmers markets and their locations; mentioned several possible locations for a farmers market in Spokane Valley, spoke of site considerations, analysis and comparisons; lie mentioned some of the pros and cons of the potential areas of the Valley Mission Park Horse Arena, the south parking lot of Valley Mission Park, Balfour Park, the new City Hall parking lot, and Castle Park. Councilmember Pace asked what kinds of organizations run the other farmers markets,and Mr. Stone said some are run by nonprofit boards,some by private businesses, and said he is not aware of any government entity running a farmers market, and that they have all been contracted out to someone who understands how these are best run; said he hears great reviews about the Wednesday night market at Kendal Yards;adding that some first steps to having a market are to determine the site, as once established they are difficult to move; determine the schedule, place ads or a RFP (request for proposals) in the newspapers, and use other means to let the public know about the potential of having a farmers market in Spokane Valley. Councilinember Munch asked if typically governments rent the space or just allow someone to use it, and Mr. Stone said the choice would be up to Council Study Session:05-30-2017 Page 1 of 3 Approved by Council:06-27-2017 us; sometimes a City can provide space for a nominal fee and the contractor would pay everything else and assume all risk and therefore also get all the profit; he said the most successful markets are where the property owner lets the operators run the business, but if we were to do that, we would just make sure the site is ready. Mr. Stone stressed that it would be very important to have all the details determined and written ahead of time,and to review an operator's rules for running the market;said if we do this,we would want to be minimally involved, but still make sure it would be something we could be proud of. Councilmember Haley asked if Mr. Stone has ever been approached by anyone who wants to do this and lie said lie has not. Deputy Mayor Woodard said that the area would need to be visible, and he is not sure he would want to use Balfour Park or the City Hall parking lot; and Mr. Stone reiterated that we would not be heavily involved; that ideally we would find a site and turn it over to the operators, again stressing the need for a written arrangement. Mr. Stone also noted that because June is already upon us, this would be something to work toward for next year. Mr. Stone said as there is apparent Council interest, he will continue to develop this concept and come back with recommendations for a site with more specific costs, and Council concurred. 3. Parks Master Plan--Mike Stone Via his PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Stone gave Council an overview of the development of the Master Plan, explained what it is, that it is updated every five, six or seven years to keep it consistent with grant funding;and that we continue to pursue public involvement;said it does take time for staff to pursue grants, and time as well as cost is always a challenge. Councihnember Pace asked about acquiring parkland including the idea of pocket parks, and Mr. Stone said that pocket parks were popular years ago, but maintenance was over-burdening;however, in our City it might be appropriate to look at that concept again as finding large areas for parks is difficult. Mr. Stone said ideally, we want parks in most neighborhoods, and we currently have a park in almost every section of our City; adding that for a city our size, our park inventory is small. City Manager Calhoun said that in our upcoming budget workshop, we will review a spreadsheet showing potential and pending projects,which won't be all-inclusive, but will give Council an opportunity to bring forward ideas like pocket parks;that in previous years the focus was on such projects as the Appleway Trail; and said that typically once a project makes it onto the spreadsheet,we have pretty good success in bringing those projects to fruition;but as always, we have a finite amount of money and an infinite amount of projects,so we have to work with the finances available.Mr.Stone said Councilmembers should all have a copy of the 2013 Plan, and asked Councilmembers to let him know if they need a copy. 4. Port Districts—John Hohman Deputy City Manager Hohman and Deputy City Attorney Lamb went over some of the laws concerning forming a port district,as noted on the May 30,2017 Request for Council Action(RCA)form. Mr.Hohman said that as a result of discussions held at a March council meeting, several questions arose, and Mr. Hohman went over that information as noted on his RCA, in particular, (1) may a city opt out or exclude itself from a county-wide port district;with the answer being no,that there is no legal mechanism for a city to opt out or exclude itself from a county-wide proposal; (2)may a city create its own port district;with the answer that a city does not have the authority to place its own port district on a ballot; however, citizens could petition to establish a less-than-county-wide port district; and(3) if a port district is approved by the voters that include a city, may the city later exclude itself from the port district; with the answer being that once a port district is approved by the voters, there is no provision to allow a city to withdraw from the district. Mr.Hohman also went over the information contained in the March 29,2017 Memorandum,which was part of tonight's Council packet,to show the breakdown of various port district's monthly stipend. Mr. Lamb explained some of the issues and laws surrounding port districts formed as a result of a ballot issue, which led to discussion about rules for any ballot issue, including Council taking a position on a particular ballot measure,and said that the City cannot use resources to campaign for any ballot issue. City Attorney Driskell added that if Council wanted to take a position on a particular ballot issue, there are methods in place to do so, and Council could suspend the rules for that particular issue if they so desired. Council Study Session:05-30-2017 Page 2 of 3 Approved by Council:06-27-2017 Discussion turned to taxing and levies including mention from Mayor Higgins that if you approve a port district, then you are approving being taxed. Mr. Hohman added that a tax revenue is just one source of revenue, and once established, they could lease properties as a source of income. Councilmember Pace reiterated his view that he doesn't like port districts, and that he feels they are a sham by big government to raise taxes beyond what a city or county could raise. Deputy Mayor Woodard raised the question about having written purpose and bylaws, and Mr. Lamb said you might be able to specify an end date, but the laws are clear and the powers are granted through statutes; that generally once created, a port district can do whatever the laws allows. Deputy Mayor Woodard asked if a port district could be formed for at least a year; and Mr. Lamb said he would need to research into the basis for that. Councilmember Collier asked if any created port district was ever disbanded and Mr. Hohman said not to his knowledge. Mr. Driskell said all citizens within an approved port district have the right to vote for port districts,and the port district is headed by elected commissioners. After further brief discussion, Mayor Higgins said that based on the comments tonight, he feels Council might want to drop this issue, and Councihnembers nodded in agreement. It was previously mentioned that GSI(Greater Spokane, Inc.)was apparently interested in port districts, and Mr. Hohman said staff will monitor the issue to ascertain GSI's stance. 5.Advance Agenda- Mayor Higgins There were no suggestions for changes to the Advance Agenda. 6. Council check-in—Mayor Higgins There were no Council comments. 6. City Manager Comments—Mark Calhoun Mr. Calhoun remarked that the budget workshop is coming up in two weeks, June 13, in this room, from 8:30 a.m.to approximately 3:30 p.m., and at this workshop,Council will have an opportunity to review the actual line item details within the operating funds, adding that this is a good review of where these funds come from, and what they are used for. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:21 p.m. c-A AT / L.R. Higgins, May ' 144 Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Council Study Session:05-30-2017 Page 3 of 3 Approved by Council:06-27-2017